In performing rough-installations of plumbing in buildings, plumbers commonly use wall-straps of the type disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,097,843 to Morrow. Morrow's wall-strap, and the subsequent variations on the device, disclose a wall-strap that assist plumbers with rough-in installation of water piping by providing a strap that attaches between wall studs with holes through which a plumber may pass horizontal water pipes. The wall-straps commonly feature holes that are aligned at specific distances from the center of the studs, in order that the pipes may be passed horizontally through the correct location for the later installation of sinks, lavatories, flush valves, water heaters, and other plumbing fixtures.
In the common sequence of constructing buildings, plumbing rough-in is performed after the studs are installed in a building. Thus, a plumber will typically visit a project, install water piping, install horizontal temporary end-sections of hot and cold water piping (commonly called, “stub outs”) through the wall-strap, and cap the ends of the pipes. Then the plumber typically leaves the project until the drywall or wallboard work is complete. Then the plumber returns to the project to complete the work, which includes installing plumbing fixtures and connecting the plumbing valves to the horizontal temporary end-sections (stub-outs) of water pipes that were previously installed.
For plumbers that are careful in producing high quality rough-in and finish work, a problem arises of carefully aligning the temporary end-sections of the water pipes such that they are horizontal and perpendicular to the wall surface. While the wall-strap holds the pipes in place, it does not steadily secure them such that they may not become misaligned. Also, because two hands are required to complete soldering (one to hold the solder and the other to hold a torch) it is impossible for a plumber working alone to properly align the temporary end-section of the water pipes while soldering. Therefore, it is difficult for plumbers to install true, horizontal pipes and to be able to aim the water connection in the wall, horizontality or vertically without the help of an assistant or other party.
Also, while several “third-hand” devices have been developed in order to assist with welding and soldering jobs, none is suitable for this application. U.S. Pat. No. 555,624 to Slotkin, for example, discloses a soldering clamp for plumbers that comprise a series of vices that are held together upon a centrally-pivoted yoke that allows pipes to be held in place for soldering. While such a device is useful for bringing together pipes of varying angles, it fails to provide a means for aligning a pipe perpendicularly to a common plumbing wall-strap.
Another device, which is useful for aligning pipes perpendicularly, is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,771 to Melville. Melville's patent discloses a device that allows one worker to form leaded joints between pipes by supporting a pipe to be welded perpendicularly or at a specific angle which is selected by the pipe fitter. While Melville's device is useful for reducing the manpower required for certain pipe-fitting applications, it cannot be used in order to align hot and cold water stub outs for soldering.
Another work holding tool for supporting articles for welding or gluing is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,811 to Long. Long discloses a clamp which may be held and operated by one hand. While Long's device is useful for holding two objects together and allowing a welder or plumber to weld or solder the objects, the device is not useful in soldering pipes perpendicular to a wall.
A device for welding pipes perpendicular to one another is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,296 to Davio. Davio's device features a saddle and clamp for fastening a pipe in place perpendicular to an object onto which the device is attached. In this manner, Davio's device assists a welder in aligning the pipes to be welded by securely holding the pipes in a perpendicular position while they are welded. Davio's device, however, is not tailored for use in applications such as the installation of hot and hold water pipe stub outs through a plumbing wall-strap.
Another clamp for aligning work-pieces in a perpendicular fashion is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,294 to Hyatt. Hyatt's patent discloses a perpendicular bar clamp that features a C-clamp and a pipe-clamp that is aligned perpendicularly to the C-clamp. The invention allows the C-clamp to be attached to an object and a pipe or similar such object aligned perpendicularly to the object, through the pipe-clamp. In this manner, Hyatt's device discloses a means for aligning two items, such as pipes, perpendicularly for welding. While this device is useful for many perpendicular applications, it fails to disclose a means for aligning pipes perpendicularly to plumbing wall-straps.
Other welding clamps, commonly used in the industry are similarly inapplicable for this purpose. 3-Jaw clamps and other third-hand clamps found on the market are not designed for the purpose of aligning pipes at a right angle to wall-straps.
Therefore, there remains a long felt need in the art for a plumbing clamp or tool that aligns pipes normal to the plane of a plumbing wall-strap and maintains the position of the pipe so that both of the plumber's hands may be used to solder a horizontal stub out to a vertical water pipe.